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NIV is used unless otherwise noted.

Just Like Family

Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let
them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

Psalm 43:3

Have you
ever made a comment, and as you spoke the very words, you realized they could
have been straight out of your mother's mouth? These moments of realization can
be a sweet confirmation of wisdom imparted, or they can be a shock to your
soul! We all have mothers with wonderful qualities and not-so-wonderful
qualities. We ARE all people with wonderful and not-so-wonderful qualities.

We have
learned from our parents how to handle life, or at least, how they
handled certain situations. So, what do we do when faced with similar
situations? We often respond in just the way our folks did.

In Genesis
12, after Abraham had made it to the Promised Land, there was a famine. Abraham
packed up and went to Egypt to live for a while. This is where he lied about
Sarah being his wife because he was afraid. God showed Pharaoh the truth about
Sara and Abraham, and he sent Abraham and Sarah away.

In Genesis 26, years later, there was another famine. But this time the story is about Abraham's son, Isaac. And what did Isaac do? He did just as his father had
done. He headed for Egypt. God stopped Isaac and told him to stay put, though
he had already left his homeland. Guess what else Isaac did? He lied to
the king about his wife, Rebecca, being his sister. Like father, like son.

Some of the
examples of our parents are rock solid. They made choices we hope we would have
the guts to make. We can all agree that Abraham was an example of a man of
faith. Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as
righteousness (Genesis
15:6).

Sometimes what
was right for our parents might not be right for us. And sometimes we follow
their footsteps into destruction. We must make the choices that God
has for us. Let’s use Him as our guide rather than others. It’s not always easy
to know what to do, but we can know Him. Let’s focus on drawing near to Him,
and He will reveal what we need to know, when we need to know it.

God, thank You that You are our Father,
whom we can trust. Show us how to follow You daily with You as our Guide.